Chai Bisket, a digital content startup, has secured $5 million in seed funding to launch a new regional-first OTT platform called Chai Shots. The funding round was led by InfoEdge Ventures and General Catalyst, with participation from several high-profile angel investors.
These include Swiggy co-founders Sriharsha Majety and Nandan Reddy, redBus co-founder Phanindra Sama, Darwinbox’s Rohit Chennamaneni, PhysicsWallah’s Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, Rapido’s Aravind Sanka, Rishikesh SR, and Pavan Guntupalli, Virgio’s Amar Nagaram, and actor Rana Daggubati.
Chai Bisket will soon launch Chai Shots, a mobile-first, short-form OTT platform, in early access. The digital content startup plans to release over 100 original shows in the first six months, beginning with Telugu content and gradually expanding to other Indian languages.
Founded in 2015 by Sharath Chandra and Anurag Reddy, Chai Bisket focuses on producing and distributing regional content, managing influencers and talent, and providing film marketing services. The company’s content portfolio includes YouTube videos, Instagram Reels, web series, podcasts, and mobile-first shows. It claims to generate over 5 crore monthly views, having produced 1,000+ YouTube videos and more than 3,000 Instagram Reels/Shorts to date.
Joining the leadership team for Chai Shots is Krishna Mohan Varma, who comes on board as a co-founder. According to his LinkedIn profile, Varma previously worked as a software development engineer.
“Chai Shots was born out of a clear shift in consumer behaviour. While platforms like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels have proven the massive demand for short-form video, the space is still dominated by user-generated content. We believe it’s time to elevate the format to blend the emotional power of fiction with the speed and convenience of short-form…” cofounder Chandra said on the launch of the OTT platform.
The launch of Chai Shots comes at a time when microdramas—short, soap opera-style episodes lasting 60 to 120 seconds—are rapidly gaining popularity across India. This emerging format is reshaping how audiences consume entertainment, especially on mobile devices.
